“Across the political
spectrum, there is a growing recognition that while short-term battles over
government spending are important, they would be far less ferocious and intense
if our economy were growing at a faster clip. But while conservatives and
liberals alike clamor for more growth, they disagree about how to produce it.
The key is unleashing what the economist Joseph Berliner once called the
“Invisible Foot,” the neglected counterpart to Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand.”

….
Enter the invisible foot …. This invisible foot of new competition is what
drives incumbent firms to either step up their games ‑ a process that
often involves burning through stockpiles of cash and shrinking profits ‑ or go out of
business.”

NOTE:
An anonymous reader [not me] posts a comment for Reihan Salam: “As to the “invisible foot” mentioned in your
article, perhaps a better term might be “invisible bul..t” of this grossly
inaccurate comment.”